News

The number of Sudanese refugees in Chad has more than tripled in just over two years amid the ongoing war in their homeland, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said in an alert on Tuesday.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk has condemned new reports that dozens more Gazans were killed early Tuesday “trying to access paltry amounts of food” around a private aid hub in the south of the enclave run by the US and Israel.

As June marks one year since the arbitrary detention of dozens of personnel from the UN, NGOs, civil society organizations and diplomatic missions by the Houthi de facto authorities in Yemen, the UN Secretary-General has reiterated his call for their release, urging they be freed “immediately and unconditionally.”

The UN Secretary-General on Monday reinforced his stand against all acts of antisemitism following the horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, at the weekend and vandalism in France targeting Jewish landmarks.

Flash flooding in western Nigeria at the weekend has caused devastation around the town of Mokwa in Niger state, leaving more than 150 dead and 3,000 people displaced – more than half of whom are children aged 12 and under – the UN said on Monday.

Former German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock was elected President of the General Assembly’s 80th session on Monday. Her appointment comes as the regional group that includes Western Europe takes its turn at the helm of the world body.

The UN Secretary-General has called for an investigation into the killing and injury of Palestinians seeking food aid in Gaza on Sunday. 

As Ukrainian and Russian delegations meet for a second round of preliminary peace talks in Turkïye on Monday, rural communities faced their own challenge: finding something to eat.

Amid disputed reports of Israeli forces firing on civilians near a new privatised aid distribution point in southern Gaza, the head of the Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA, said on Sunday that lifting the months-long aid blockade of the enclave is the only way to avoid “mass starvation”.

“I stood helpless in the face of my son’s hunger. I cried a lot and told him to drink from our little water to satisfy his hunger,” said Zeenat, a young Palestinian woman speaking to UN News from the battered Gaza Strip.

A world in which algorithms determine the fate of soldiers and civilians alike is no longer hypothetical. AI-driven drones are reshaping warfare, raising deep ethical questions about autonomy in combat. As international policymakers scramble to set ground rules, the race is on to rein in this rapidly evolving technology.

The UN is facing a deepening budget crisis that threatens lifesaving operations worldwide. From refugee aid in Mozambique to maternal health services in Afghanistan, critical programmes are on the brink of collapse unless urgent funding is secured.